1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to tool for use in making accurate and precise measurements in the field of carpentry. More specifically, the present invention relates to an tool having specific use in the accurate and precise measuring or offsets and reveals common in the field of carpentry.
It is not uncommon for many carpenters or framers to be employed on a single carpentry project and, therefore, it is important that the methods and measurements utilized by varying carpenters or framers at work on a single carpentry project be consistent and predictable to ensure the integrity of the carpentry on the particular project as a whole—this is a primary object of the presently claimed invention.
The present invention specifically relates to a tool for use in making precise, consistent and accurate reveal on door and window frames during the installation of of frame molding. The present invention is further directed at a tool as above stated wherein the same my be cheaply manufactured, carried with ease, and designed in such a simplistic way as to reduce the possibility of human error in the use of the tool.
2. Background Art
In the field of carpentry it is frequent practice in the construction of thresholds for doors, windows and the like to install trim work to serve an ornamental function by hiding what would otherwise be roughed in structural framing of the window, door or the like. In doing so, a carpenter must have the capacity to measure and set a consistent reveal around the perimeter of the roughed in structural framework, the consistent reveal to serve as the guide for the placement of decorative trim or molding to “finish” the threshold in relation to adjacent sheetrock and/or drywall. It construction of said thresholds, consistency in the measurement of the reveals ultimately determines whether the appearance of the trim, molding and “finished” thresholds are going to appear consistent throughout the construction project and, thus, whether the integrity of the carpentry throughout the project will meet customer expectations.
Despite the practice of setting reveals according to known measurements, commonly ¼″, ½″ or ¾″, differing carpenters may and frequently do differ in their respective calculations of these known measurements. Be it difference in measuring convention or just pure human error, the result of varying carpenters working on a single construction product with inconsistent methods of measuring what should be a singular and constant, fixed reveal is inconsistencies in appearance as between thresholds and, thus, poor aesthetic craftsmanship in the overall project.
The field of carpentry is no stranger to the use of varying guides, gauges and tools to ensure consistency in measurement. However, with regard to setting reveals in the construction of thresholds, it has become desirable to provide a tool that is (i) easily portable, (ii) of small enough size to allow a single carpenter to manipulate the tool while simultaneously marking a measured reveal, (iii) manufactured in a such a way as to mitigate the likelihood and opportunity of inconsistent measurements due to human error or divergent measuring conventions, and (iv) capable of use simultaneously in two orthogonal directions for the accurate measurement of reveals in the corner of a given threshold. It has further become desirable to provide a tool that serves all of the aforementioned purposes while minimizing the number of components comprising the tool, thus, enhancing the efficiency and affordability of manufacture of the same.
The state of the prior art in the field of carpentry is such that several developed guides, gauges, or tools meet one or more of the aforementioned needs and desirables, however, no single inventive concept has emerged that addresses all of the aforementioned aspirations. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,989,336 to Waltrip Jr. et al. (the “336 patent”) discloses a trim positioning device intended to allow a carpenter to measure consistent reveals with ease. However, in creating a device that must be adjusted to the predetermined magnitude of reveal, the 336 patent invites human error in the use of the device and, in this sense, is not truly any better than a carpenter using a simple straight ruler to measure the predetermined offset of the reveal. Further, the 336 patent discloses a guide tool having several varying components, many of which are fairly complex in design so as to make the efficient and affordable manufacture of the tool questionable. Still further, the 336 patent discloses a guide tool that may only be utilized in a single orthogonal direction at any one time, thus requiring repositioning of the device for the measuring of both the horizontal reveal and vertical reveal encountered at the corner of a subject threshold.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,172 to Thrun (the “172 patent”) discloses an invention very similar to that of the 336 patent. Specifically, the gauge disclosed in the 172 patent is adjustable, is comprised of a plurality of components, and is capable of use in only a single orthogonal direction at a time. In this sense, the gauge disclosed in the 172 patent suffers from many of the same shortcomings as the 336 patent device, including the invitation of human error in measuring, a perceived higher cost of manufacture and similar difficulties in measuring reveals in the corner of a threshold. The 172 patent does, however, disclose a securing arm that allows the gauge to be affixed to the framed threshold during measurement, thus allowing a user to simultaneously manipulate the gauge while measuring the desired reveal.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,737,844 to Brumley (the “844 patent”) and U.S. Pat. No. 7,743,517 to Burgese (the “517 patent”) represent what the present inventor believes to be, outside of the present disclosed invention, the most comprehensive solutions to the aforementioned suite of problems and, even so, each have expressly disclosed carpentry guides that are adjustable, again allowing for the possibility of human error to compromise the integrity of a consistent reveal. Further, both the 517 patent and 844 patent include a plurality of components that, in turn, require a plurality of molds to manufacture. In this sense, the 517 patent and the 844 patent would appear to be more expensive to manufacture than the now disclosed invention. It should be noted that of the prior art cited, the 844 patent is the only disclosure that suggests a tool capable of use in multiple orthogonal directions.
As can be appreciated from the above cited prior art examples, the state of the art favors tools, gauges, and guides that are adjustable and, thus, subject to human error and differences in measurement between individual users. The opportunity to adjust these devices render the devices no more accurate and precise in the measurement and marking of a reveal than the use of other standard measurement practices known in the art. Further, incidental to the adjustable nature of the above cited prior art examples is the tendency of these tools, gauges and guides to have a plurality of moving parts and components, thus calling into question the efficiency and affordability with which these devices may be manufactured.